AIADMK meet picks Palaniswami as its supreme leader
Chennai(PTI) On expected lines, Tamil Nadu's principal opposition party, the AIADMK on Monday elected Edappady K Palaniswami (EPS) as its Interim General Secretary and vested in him full powers to helm the organisation.
In its Executive Committee and General Council meeting held here, the AIADMK endorsed scrapping the erstwhile top two positions of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator held by O Panneerselvam and (OPS) Palaniswami, respectively.
The party has also formally resolved to hold organisational polls in 4 months to elect General Secretary. It has amended several bylaws, which includes fresh norms and prerequisites to fight for the top party position of General Secretary.
In total, 16 resolutions were adopted. While Panneerselvam is the party treasurer, senior leader and former Minister C Vijayabaskar presented accounts related to party finances in the meet. It is seen as a clear indication that OPS would soon be eased out of his position.
The first resolution extended its greetings to partymen elected in the recent organisational polls for various levels. The second resolution urged the Centre to confer 'Bharat Ratna' on late leaders-- social justice icon Periyar E V Ramasamy, Dravidian movement's father figure CN Annadurai, and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.
Incidentally, Jayalalithaa helmed the party for decades as its powerful general secretary while her close aide, VK Sasikala, was made interim general secretary for a brief period following the former's death in December 2016.
Sasikala, who was later convicted and sentenced in a disproportionate assets case, was subsequently sacked from the post in 2017 by a then AIADMK GC.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
